The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-10-27
SUGAR MAKING.

Major Geo. B. Jenness of Fort Scott
has written letter to the Usage City
Free-Press on sorghum sugar making
at the Parkinson sugar works, which is
the clearest explanation of the process
that has been written. From Major
Jenness' account the following has
been taken:
The people everywhere realize that a
new industry has been given to the
country which will increase the mate
rial wealth by millions of dollars and
give to the agriculturist a new crop,
which is proof against drought, easily
and cheaply cultivated, the product
from which will give him quick cash
return at time of the year when no
other crop can be put upon the market.
The system used is known as the
diffusion process, introduced in Europe
in beet sugar making, yet this name
only applies to the extraction of the
cane juice, and the real source of sue
cess is to be found in the variety of
minutia in the treatment of the juice
after it has been expressed. The diff
fusion process consists of the extrac-
ton of the juice of the cane by inter
mingling with water. A series of cells,
very much in shape like the magazine
VI q OOOCb AOuAOolALIS OA11y OLA VI OONOh
times as large, standing on end, and
each holding about ton of chopped
cane. They are air and water tight
with movable bottom, through which
to drop the chips after the juice is eX-
pressed. The cane is first run through
a powerful cutting machine which chips
it up in pieces about an inch in length,
leaves and all. 1t is then run through
strong windmill, which blows out all
81 aI,s,
of cane clean. These are then elevated
to the second story, where they are run
through another machine and split
into very fine particles. From this
machine the mass is carried by roller
trough along the diffusion battery.
The battery consists of fourteen of the
cells, above described, cOnsecutively
connected with water, steam and COM
pressed air pipes, and as fast as the
juice is expressed, or diffused from the
cane, they are emptied and filed. The
diffusion is accomplished in this: way
the fourteen cells arranged thus
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O 100
Il 10 L. II 10 Z . 5 8 2
are numbered as shown i'll the diagram.
They are filed with cane and cold wa
ter is then forced into No. l. There
the hot steam in the connecting pipe
heats the water somewhat and it is diff
fused through the cane. This mixing
with the juice makes the liquid one
juice. Or. in other words, the liquid
now contains fifty per cent of juice. 1t
is now forced from No. into No. 2,
and No. is again filled with pure wa
ter. The liquid going into No. 2 is diff
fused through the cane, taking up an
other per cent of juice from that cell,
while the pure water in No. l takes up
one-half of the juice left in No. and
then follows into NO. 2 an No. is emp
tied or drawn off into No. 8 until the
liquid in this reaches No. z, where it is
charged with as much juice as it will
hold. 1t is then drawn off into watts
and is ready Co go into the vacuum
boiling pans. The other water and
juice follows along until finally the
fresh water forced into No. / comes
out pure, showing that all the juice is
extracted. 1t is then emptied of the
refuse and again filed, to undergo the
same process. From No. to No IA
the cells are used in the same way, and,
when in full operation, a continuous
stream of juice is pouring into the watts.
The water is forced from one cell to
another with compressed air. This is
diffusion.
The vacuum boiling pans, two in
number, in this factory, which has a
capacity OI ,ZUO ACRES OF cane per sea-
son, are built of boiler iron and look
very much like about one-forth cross
section of a freight car, and about as
high. Being air tight the juice boils at
very low temperature, and the eX-
haust steam from the huge engine that
runs the machinery is found ample to
do all the boiling. After the juice is
boiled down, the mass is placed in sheet
iron cars, holding a ton, to cool, after
which it is sent down to the centrifu-
gals, where the rapid, revolving motion
throws out all the syrup and moisture,
leaving the dry granules of sugar.
The success of the works here is
greatly due to the simplicity and per-
lection of the machinery with which
the cane is handled. Everything is
done automatically, the cane Ia toni is |
unloaded from wagons by machinery,
carried to the cutting machine on an
endless belt, and finally the refuse from |
the cells is dumped through the bottom
into a car which is attached to an end
less cable. taken out 800 yards ana
dumped. All this is done by one man
who stands by the levers which con-
troll all the gearings.
As to the success here this year, the |
first strike averaged one hundred and |
twenty pounds of sugar per ton of
cane, as compared with an average of |
twenty pounds last season, and the |
cane last year was much better than